1. Statement of the Technical Field
The inventive arrangements relate to Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (MOSFET) circuits, and more particularly to a circuit for Alternating Current (AC) voltage rectification.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bridge rectifier type devices are typically used to convert an n-phase AC waveform into a Direct Current (DC) waveform. A schematic illustration of a conventional one-phase bridge rectifier type device is shown in FIG. 9 and a conventional three-phase bridge rectifier type device is shown in FIG. 17. As shown in FIG. 9, the conventional one-phase bridge rectifier type device is supplied an AC voltage. The conventional one-phase bridge rectifier type device utilizes a plurality of bridge connected diodes to perform the rectification function. As shown in FIG. 17, the conventional three-phase bridge rectifier type device is supplied three (3) AC voltages that differ in phase by one-third (⅓) of a cycle or one hundred twenty degrees (120°). The one-phase bridge connected diodes include two (2) positive side diodes and two (2) negative side diodes. The conventional three-phase bridge rectifier type device utilizes a plurality of three-phase bridge connected diodes to perform the rectification function. The three-phase bridge connected diodes include three (3) positive side diodes and three (3) negative side diodes. During operation of the one-phase and three-phase bridge rectifier type devices, only those diodes belonging to the phases indicative of peak values of the AC voltages at the respective positive and negative sides are turned on. In effect, an AC waveform is rectified by the bridge rectifier circuit. After the AC waveform is rectified, the output signal is often filtered to remove unwanted spectral content and to produce a DC voltage. A filtering device utilizing capacitor components, resistor components, and/or inductor components is typically used for this purpose.
Despite the various technologies known in the art, there remains a need for a one-phase bridge rectifier type device that can rectify domestic AC mains (for example, 120V, 60 Hz) and/or foreign AC mains (for example, 230V, 50 Hz) with low power loss. There is also a need for a three-phase bridge rectifier type device that can rectify a domestic three-phase AC mains (for example, 208V, 60 Hz) and/or a foreign three-phase AC mains (for example, 400V, 50 Hz) with low power loss.